2 more things that separate Seattle from the Bay Area. I'll start with the weather:
1) The high temps in the Seattle area do not generally kick in until about 5pm during summer time. I find this to be pleasant, as it's really good for me cause I'm not a morning person. =P I have noticed that at the moment it is close to noon as I write this and it's 64F. We are expected to have a high of 74 today and given yesterday's warm temps this is highly possible. It likely will not climb to the 70's until maybe 2 or 3pm.
In the SF Bay Area we typically got the high temps a bit past noon, that is, around 2pm. During summer time it might occur a little later, but generally the high temps didn't kick in until much past noon.
On my last excursion to Vancouver, Canada the high temps kicked in around 6pm. This was only a few days ago. Vancouver is a bit further north than Seattle and they get more sunlight than we do at this time of year. Their official sunset time is 11 minutes later than hours.
During winter times the high temps will kick in around 3p to 4p which makes sense, given the fact that it gets dark around 5p and it won't (and can't get) warm if there's no sunlight. The official sunset time today will be 9:09pm whereas in SF it's 8:35p which is a huge difference. In Vancouver, it's 9:20pm!
I have also noticed that it stays light later (dusk) than in SF. The sky will still be light past 9:30p tonite, whereas in SF it's already dark by 9p. During winter time it's not too much different. I think SF might get more light during the day, but I don't think it's appreciably more. I can't wait to see this winter.
2) As far as driving goes, people in Seattle area (maybe the entire Pacific Northwest?) do not like to use cruise control. Every time I drive on freeway and it's late at night (past midnight) I am in cruise control because traffic is very light. I'll come up on someone and right when I am about to pass, they speed up and won't let me pass. It's very annoying.
People here like to pace you as well (travel at same speed). In SF Bay Area, this is the only thing they do better than here in Seattle. People generally will not pace you in Bay Area and will speed up or slow down so they will not be riding side by side with you (which is potentially dangerous).
People generally travel at a slower rate of speed than in Bay Area. Of course some people drive crazy but it's a far more laid back experience. When there is traffic jam, it's not a big deal. People are so nice around here, if you need to move from lane to lane they will let you in. In SF, they won't let you in the lane and you have to suffer for potentially a long time until someone lets you go where you want.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Just bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" Tablet computer running Android. This is one little amazing machine. It can do a lot, but not everything. For example, I cannot get 3G internet, T-Mobile is forcing me to buy an addtional data plan which I will not do because I don't have to (and don't have the money either). I also cannot watch Netflix on the unit which would have been perfect.
I do like the ability to make calls and surf internet when a wi-fi connection is present. I also appreciate the super high quality screen and sleek and lightweight interface. The additional installed apps are a nice touch and it's obvious Samsung put a bit of effort into this machine to make it a nice experience for it's user.
Upgraded to the latest operating system this morning (Gingerbread). It went off without a hitch and now my tablet runs quicker and smoother than before which makes me happy happy happy! I'd really like to do a full review some day, which should be sooner than later because I don't want to wait too long, then I won't want to do it anymore.
I do like the ability to make calls and surf internet when a wi-fi connection is present. I also appreciate the super high quality screen and sleek and lightweight interface. The additional installed apps are a nice touch and it's obvious Samsung put a bit of effort into this machine to make it a nice experience for it's user.
Upgraded to the latest operating system this morning (Gingerbread). It went off without a hitch and now my tablet runs quicker and smoother than before which makes me happy happy happy! I'd really like to do a full review some day, which should be sooner than later because I don't want to wait too long, then I won't want to do it anymore.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Blah blah blah
Here's my experience at Roozengarde Tulip Festival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUmGE_CLuHw
Still working at same dental clinic in Federal Way. Attended a baby shower for a co-worker today at my bosses house. It was a nice time had by all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUmGE_CLuHw
Still working at same dental clinic in Federal Way. Attended a baby shower for a co-worker today at my bosses house. It was a nice time had by all.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Rant
I'm going to rant about Hawaii. It has to be one of the most overrated vacation places to go. I've been to Maui, beautiful place when the weather is right. Some great snorkeling and diving and good food too. But it's expensive, there aren't any true budget accomodations. I stayed in Kahului but it was in a terrible neighborhood where the hotel clerk told me to unlock the doors of my rental car so that thieves could enter without breaking your windows.
Visited Lahaina which was indeed beautiful, but I could not help but to think: this place is SO touristy! Maui and Hawaii get so many visitors each year, I'm confident there isn't one inch of those two islands that hasn't been exploited for financial gain. Touristy isn't necessarily bad, if that's what you like. Personally, I'd rather go someplace where there's a true sense of adventure rather than taking the well beaten path (and those paths are really well beaten).
I hearken back to my trip to Cambodia which is a country very few people visit. In Siem Reap I would walk into a restaurant and they would have to turn the lights (and stoves on) and wake the waitress up to serve me. There were so few people at the Boarding Gate I had to check to make sure I had the correct flight. The customs line at Siem Reap airport was so quiet it was like a library (you could hear a pin drop).
Now Cambodia, that was a sense of adventure. I'd like to do Nepal as well some day. Referring back to my last post. I never did travel with my hairdresser and her family. She changed her flight last minute and didn't tell me until the day before. So she wound up flying into a different airport than I did. I was not pleased. I just did my trip solo, although I did call her when I was in Cambodia and said hi. She still cuts my hair, I do like her, she's a nice person, but I don't know if I'll arrange anymore trips with her again.
Visited Lahaina which was indeed beautiful, but I could not help but to think: this place is SO touristy! Maui and Hawaii get so many visitors each year, I'm confident there isn't one inch of those two islands that hasn't been exploited for financial gain. Touristy isn't necessarily bad, if that's what you like. Personally, I'd rather go someplace where there's a true sense of adventure rather than taking the well beaten path (and those paths are really well beaten).
I hearken back to my trip to Cambodia which is a country very few people visit. In Siem Reap I would walk into a restaurant and they would have to turn the lights (and stoves on) and wake the waitress up to serve me. There were so few people at the Boarding Gate I had to check to make sure I had the correct flight. The customs line at Siem Reap airport was so quiet it was like a library (you could hear a pin drop).
Now Cambodia, that was a sense of adventure. I'd like to do Nepal as well some day. Referring back to my last post. I never did travel with my hairdresser and her family. She changed her flight last minute and didn't tell me until the day before. So she wound up flying into a different airport than I did. I was not pleased. I just did my trip solo, although I did call her when I was in Cambodia and said hi. She still cuts my hair, I do like her, she's a nice person, but I don't know if I'll arrange anymore trips with her again.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Cambodia Trip
Looking forward to my trip in Cambodia. My hairdresser invited me to go with her family. I will be traveling with my hairdresser, her husband, and their 2 small children. Well, I won't actually be travelling with them. They will arrive about 3 days before me. I'll probably call them up and we'll probably do lunch or something and maybe take in some sights.
If my hairdresser did not invite me to Cambodia I would never go. I never think about this country. It's a poor country, dusty, and dirty, but charming like most SE Asian countries. They are taking a page out of Thailand's book and offering cooking classes, tours on elephant back, boating and the like. Like other parts of SE Asia hotels and food are cheap. Hopefully I won't spend much because I don't have much to spend, only working 3 days/week.
I'd like to work 4 days but it's been tough with the economy the way it is. I've been sending out resumes with little success. I still love the Pac NW. The laid back and relaxed lifestyle is so different than SF. They say CA style is laid back. Maybe it used to be like that, I don't think either Norcal or SoCal are laid back anymore. The pace of life is really fast in both areas and super competitive.
Hopefully I'll come into some money later in the year so I can build my Hackintosh. It's a regular PC but with a Apple Macintosh operating system. I'm not even sure if this will work or not, but there's little downside. If it doesn't work, I'll just throw Windows on it and that will be that. I estimate it will cost about $800 which is kind of a lot for a new computer, and I even have the case and everything. I just need some the processor, motherboard, RAM and some other things.
Already planning my next trip to Asia. Hopefully I'll have money to spend next year. I already have enough miles on United for another free flight. I plan to cancel this Mileage Plus card at some point next year so that I won't be stuck with the annual fee. I think this will be it for the United Mileage program, for me anyways. It was nice participating. I got just enough miles for Asia. From here on out it's all Southwest.
If my hairdresser did not invite me to Cambodia I would never go. I never think about this country. It's a poor country, dusty, and dirty, but charming like most SE Asian countries. They are taking a page out of Thailand's book and offering cooking classes, tours on elephant back, boating and the like. Like other parts of SE Asia hotels and food are cheap. Hopefully I won't spend much because I don't have much to spend, only working 3 days/week.
I'd like to work 4 days but it's been tough with the economy the way it is. I've been sending out resumes with little success. I still love the Pac NW. The laid back and relaxed lifestyle is so different than SF. They say CA style is laid back. Maybe it used to be like that, I don't think either Norcal or SoCal are laid back anymore. The pace of life is really fast in both areas and super competitive.
Hopefully I'll come into some money later in the year so I can build my Hackintosh. It's a regular PC but with a Apple Macintosh operating system. I'm not even sure if this will work or not, but there's little downside. If it doesn't work, I'll just throw Windows on it and that will be that. I estimate it will cost about $800 which is kind of a lot for a new computer, and I even have the case and everything. I just need some the processor, motherboard, RAM and some other things.
Already planning my next trip to Asia. Hopefully I'll have money to spend next year. I already have enough miles on United for another free flight. I plan to cancel this Mileage Plus card at some point next year so that I won't be stuck with the annual fee. I think this will be it for the United Mileage program, for me anyways. It was nice participating. I got just enough miles for Asia. From here on out it's all Southwest.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Vancouver
Just got back from Vancouver trip. It's about 3 hours because I have a Nexus card. It's like fast pass which allows me to blow through the border with minimal fuss. It also means I don't have to wait 3 hours at the border to get interrogated by border patrol. I love Richmond BC. The food there is so good. My fav shopping center there is Yaohan. I look forward to going back there each time and it's so good.
Friday, June 25, 2010
I just realized another plus to living in Seattle area: no bridge tolls! There's two big bridges, the 520 which connects Seattle to Redmond (that's a biggie), and the I-90 which connects Seattle to Bellevue.
On the minus side, there's no BART or good mass transit that goes across the sound, or lake, or whatever you call it. I don't know how the buses do it. When the 520 gets backed up everything gets backed up including the buses.
I learned that in WA state, allow radar detectors are allowed. Driving here is way different than in Bay Area. You aren't allowed to park within 30 feet of a stopsign or 15 feet of a fire hydrant. The cops usually don't enforce the 30 foot rule though, and the one cop I talked to said he usually would ticket if the person came within 10 feet or so.
There's alot more HOV (our version of carpool) lanes here than in Bay Area. Although, the east bay has more carpool lanes they seem to try to squeeze them in everywhere here.
On the minus side, there's no BART or good mass transit that goes across the sound, or lake, or whatever you call it. I don't know how the buses do it. When the 520 gets backed up everything gets backed up including the buses.
I learned that in WA state, allow radar detectors are allowed. Driving here is way different than in Bay Area. You aren't allowed to park within 30 feet of a stopsign or 15 feet of a fire hydrant. The cops usually don't enforce the 30 foot rule though, and the one cop I talked to said he usually would ticket if the person came within 10 feet or so.
There's alot more HOV (our version of carpool) lanes here than in Bay Area. Although, the east bay has more carpool lanes they seem to try to squeeze them in everywhere here.
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